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Five Frugal Things | a gift card, a free fizzy drink, and more

1. I contacted Target about a missing $5 gift card

I’d bought at least $20 of personal care items, which should have triggered a $5 gift card for me. But somehow, I didn’t get one.

So, I hopped on the chat, and about 5 minutes later, they sent an electronic Target gift card to my email.

Target electronic gift card

I figure that’s $1/minute, so it was worth my time to reach out.

2. I got Sonia a free fountain drink

My 7-11 app sent me a free fountain drink deal and while I’m not much for fizzy drinks, Sonia definitely is!

So while we were out doing driving practice, we popped by to redeem the freebie.

free 7-11 fountain drink

3. I used a free shipping code at CBD

(that’s Christian Book distributors! They have great prices on homeschool books, and they have plenty of non-religious homeschool books; I was ordering Wordly Wise and Easy Grammar.)

I was just a few cents under the minimum for free shipping with the code, so I found one more book to add to the cart.

I’d always rather buy an extra item if it bumps me up to free shipping. A $5.99 book > $5.99 shipping!

4. I used $40 of Old Navy vouchers

I don’t carry a lot of specialty credit cards, but I do like my Gap/Old Navy Visa.

Sometimes they send out special offers to encourage the use of the card (like, “Spend $300 outside our brands and get a $35 voucher”).

So, I used it to pay for Sonia’s driver’s ed class earlier this summer. And when Zoe needed to place an order yesterday, I had $40 in Old Navy credit to use. 

Zoe’s choices were slightly under $40, so I added one more pair of these super comfy shorts to bring our order total up to $40. 

Old Navy linen shorts

5. I…

  • used my Target Redcard debit card for 5% off
  • bought a used textbook for one of Sonia’s college classes
  • bought some used schoolbooks for S&Z’s homeschooling
  • listed another old schoolbook for sale on eBay

Your turn! Share your five frugal things in the comments.

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Deidre

Saturday 15th of August 2020

I'm late to the pary but here are my five - Been experimenting & cooking with my microwave, discovered it does really good baked potatoes with a u-tube trick I picked up to wrap the potato in foil after & rest it for 5 min; tastes like oven baked. - shocked to discover it also does pasta well - hoodah thought - my main activity outside work is till decluttering so free ( very weird for me that when I need to find something now I usually know exactly where it will be lol) - been doing this one for years now- I love chocolate but I buy dark cooking chocolate to eat as I eat way less than I would with other choc, plus cooking chocolate's cheaper & then I usually get it on special which is even cheaper - Held off buying a few things this winter even though I really wanted them to discover I did quite well without them

MEM

Thursday 13th of August 2020

I feel like such a slacker compared to you folks but here goes (more than 5):

1. Cut DH and DS25 hair - Summer buzz cut 2. Tinted my eyebrows - too much white! 3. Trimmed my bangs - still not comfortable about my salon 4. Sold two Grandin Road outdoor pillows on FB marketplace 5. Ordered some cashmere sweaters on Poshmark - Boston winters can be bitterly cold and we try to keep the heat at 64. The sweaters were about $20 each. 6. Washed, dried, cored and froze whole tomatoes from my garden. They will be great in stews and pasta sauce this Winter. 7. Using up giant jar of oats by making an oatmeal and banana smoothie with almond milk every morning. I don't like the texture of overnight oats but if I puree them in the blender with extra almond milk I can tolerate them. 8. I make my own cold brew half-caff coffee using my French press.

Becca

Wednesday 12th of August 2020

Made homemade granola bars.

Line dried a bunch of laundry outside in the heat.

Used the library for free movies and books.

Have been eating lots of veggies from our garden.

Cut my toddler’s hair myself

Eileeln

Wednesday 12th of August 2020

1. Local grocery deli had a buy one get on free on Chinese entrees. Purchased and split into four portions to freeze for the future.

2. Signed up for USPS to pick up my eBay packages from my porch. No longer have to run to the post office to have them scanned. Saved gas money and my precious time :-)

3. Made another loaf of 90 minute wheat bread. So good and much cheaper than store bought by a lot. Haven't actually purchased bread from the store since the pandemic began.

4. Checked out an audio book and also an eBook from my local library.

5. Baked a batch of low calorie granola - I have for breakfast every morning with yogurt. Tasty!

Cathy in NJ

Wednesday 12th of August 2020

1. Used toothpaste to clean the inside of a white mug. Looks like new.

2. Was told its $5 each to return propane tanks. Placed them at curb mart and paid zero.

3. Updated my work from home desk with a wide mouth clear plastic nut jar and zip tie to hold pens. Poked two holes in the jar and zip tied it to the table leg right under the table top. It looks fine and gives me more table space. A wicker basket would look more lux but this is what I have available at home.

4. Cooked at home, used garden vegetables.

5. Tailored two cotton masks that I had been given that were too big. Cut off length and added wire for the nose. They came out great and are added to the mask collection.

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